Convenience store retailers gathered in Parliament yesterday (9 September) to send a clear message to the Chancellor that the cost of trading must be addressed in next month’s UK Budget.
The #Checkout the Cost of Trading campaign highlights the hundreds of millions of pounds that the convenience sector contributed last year in taxes, including over £300m in business rates and over £400m in employer National Insurance contributions.
Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) chief executive Ed Woodall said: “The cost of trading is reaching critical levels, and the groundswell of support from retailers in Parliament to support our campaign makes it clear that this is a problem being felt in communities across the country. Local shops aren’t looking for handouts, we just need the conditions to allow hard working retailers, entrepreneurs who have taken a big risk to take on a small business, to invest in their future.”
Earlier this month, ACS made its recommendations to the Chancellor on specific policy changes that could support local shops in the Budget, including:
Tackling Crime and Dodgy Shops: Use the revenue that will be generated from the Vaping Products Levy coming into force in October to enforce against those that sell illicit products and don’t follow the rules.
Sustainable Employment: Keep the cost of employing people under control by sticking to the two-thirds of median earnings target for the National Living Wage, and ensure that employment reforms don’t make it harder to create jobs in local communities.
Business Rates: Reduce the small business rate relief multiplier for stores in England by the full 20p available to the Government, and increase the point at which businesses start paying business rates to £18,000 rateable value.
